Devices and methods for uplink control channel design in regular bursts for new radio (NR) networks

ABSTRACT

Wireless communication devices, such as a scheduled entity, are adapted to facilitate uplink transmissions on multiple physical uplink control channels (PUCCHs) of a regular burst period. According to one example, a scheduled entity may obtain a payload for an uplink transmission on a PUCCH. The scheduled entity may subsequently send the uplink transmission utilizing two or more physical uplink control channels (PUCCH) of a regular burst period, where each PUCCH is associated with a different frequency band of the regular burst period. According to one example, a scheduling entity may receive an uplink transmission, where the uplink transmission utilizes a first PUCCH of a regular burst period, and at least a second PUCCH of the regular burst period, each of the first and second PUCCHs being associated with respectively different frequency bands of the regular burst period. Other aspects, embodiments, and features are also included.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority to and the benefit of provisionalpatent application No. 62/402,451 filed in the U.S. Patent and TrademarkOffice on Sep. 30, 2016, the entire content of which is incorporatedherein by reference as if fully set forth below in its entirety and forall applicable purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The technology discussed below relates generally to wirelesscommunications, and more specifically to methods and devices forfacilitating uplink transmissions on a physical uplink control channel(PUCCH).

INTRODUCTION

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be accessed byvarious types of devices adapted to facilitate wireless communications,where multiple devices share the available system resources (e.g., time,frequency, and power). Examples of such wireless communications systemsinclude code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time-divisionmultiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multiple access(FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA)systems, etc.

As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase,research and development continue to advance wireless communicationtechnologies not only to meet the growing demand for mobile broadbandaccess, but to advance and enhance the user experience with mobilecommunications. For example, the third generation partnership project(3GPP) is an organization that develops and maintains telecommunicationstandards for fourth generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) networks.Recently, the 3GPP has begun the development of a next-generationevolution of LTE, which generally corresponds to a fifth generation (5G)new radio (NR) network. As it stands today, 5G NR networks may exhibit ahigher degree of flexibility and scalability than LTE, and areenvisioned to support very diverse sets of requirements. Therefore, anefficient and flexible manner for a device to determine various aspectsof the network upon acquisition is desired.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects ofthe present disclosure, in order to provide a basic understanding ofsuch aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of allcontemplated features of the disclosure, and is intended neither toidentify key or critical elements of all aspects of the disclosure norto delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the disclosure. Its solepurpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of thedisclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

One or more aspects of the present disclosure are directed to scheduledentities. According to at least one embodiment, a scheduled entity mayinclude a transceiver, a memory, and a processing circuit coupled to thetransceiver and the memory. The processing circuit may be adapted toobtain a payload for an uplink transmission on a physical uplink controlchannel (PUCCH), and to send the uplink transmission via the transceiverutilizing two or more physical uplink control channels (PUCCH) of aregular burst period, wherein each PUCCH is associated with a differentfrequency band of the regular burst period.

One or more further aspects of the present disclosure include methods ofwireless communication as well as scheduled entities including means toperform such methods. One or more examples of such methods may includeobtaining a payload for an uplink transmission on a physical uplinkcontrol channel (PUCCH), and sending the uplink transmission utilizingtwo or more physical uplink control channels (PUCCH) of a regular burstperiod, wherein each PUCCH is associated with a different frequency bandof the regular burst period.

Still further aspects of the present disclosure includeprocessor-readable storage medium storing processor-executableprogramming. In at least one example, the processor-executableprogramming may be adapted to cause a processing circuit to prepare apayload for an uplink transmission on a physical uplink control channel(PUCCH), and to transmit the uplink transmission utilizing two or morephysical uplink control channels (PUCCH) of a regular burst period,wherein each PUCCH is associated with a different frequency band of theregular burst period.

Additional aspects of the present disclosure include schedulingentities. According to at least one example, a scheduling entity mayinclude a transceiver, a memory, and at least one processing circuitcommunicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. The at leastone processing circuit may be adapted to receive via the transceiver anuplink transmission from a scheduled entity on a first physical uplinkcontrol channel (PUCCH) of a regular burst period, and on at least asecond PUCCH of the regular burst period, where the first PUCCH and thesecond PUCCH are associated with respectively different frequency bandsof the same regular burst period.

One or more further aspects of the present disclosure include methods ofwireless communication as well as scheduled entities including means toperform such methods. One or more examples of such methods may includereceiving an uplink transmission from a scheduled entity on a firstphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH) of a regular burst period.Further, an uplink transmission may be received from the scheduledentity on at least a second PUCCH of the same regular burst period,where the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH are associated withrespectively different frequency bands of the same regular burst period.

Yet further aspects of the present disclosure include processor-readablestorage medium storing processor-executable programming. In at least oneexample, the processor-executable programming may be adapted to cause aprocessing circuit to receive an uplink transmission from a scheduledentity on a first physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) of a regularburst period, and on at least a second PUCCH of the regular burstperiod, where the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH are associated withrespectively different frequency bands of the same regular burst period.

Other aspects, features, and embodiments associated with the presentdisclosure will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artupon reviewing the following description in conjunction with theaccompanying figures.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a network environment in which one or moreaspects of the present disclosure may find application.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of ascheduling entity communicating with one or more scheduled entitiesaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a typical frame structure for anuplink transmission on the PUCCH.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating select components of a scheduledentity according to at least one example.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a configurationfor the regular burst including a single PUCCH region.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram showing another configuration for theregular burst including a plurality of PUCCH regions.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a frequency hoppingtransmission according to at least one implementation.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a multi-clustertransmission according to at least one implementation.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a transmissionemploying aspects of both frequency hopping and multi-cluster describedabove.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a frame structure for transmitting arelatively small payload (e.g., below the first threshold) on two PUCCHbands using frequency hopping.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a frame structure for transmitting arelatively medium sized payload (e.g., above the first threshold andbelow the second threshold) on two PUCCH bands using frequency hopping.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a frame structure for transmitting arelatively large payload (e.g., above the second threshold) on two PUCCHbands using frequency hopping.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating two sequences for creating RStones in the frequency domain.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating a method operational on ascheduled entity according to at least one example.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating select components of ascheduling entity according to at least one example.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating a method operational on ascheduling entity according to at least one example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description set forth below in connection with the appended drawingsis intended as a description of various configurations and is notintended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts andfeatures described herein may be practiced. The following descriptionincludes specific details for the purpose of providing a thoroughunderstanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without thesespecific details. In some instances, well known circuits, structures,techniques and components are shown in block diagram form to avoidobscuring the described concepts and features.

The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may beimplemented across a broad variety of telecommunication systems, networkarchitectures, and communication standards. Referring now to FIG. 1, asan illustrative example without limitation, a simplified schematicillustration of an access network 100 is provided.

The geographic region covered by the access network 100 may be dividedinto a number of cellular regions (cells), including macrocells 102,104, and 106, and a small cell 108, each of which may include one ormore sectors. Cells may be defined geographically (e.g., by coveragearea) and/or may be defined in accordance with a frequency, scramblingcode, etc. In a cell that is divided into sectors, the multiple sectorswithin a cell can be formed by groups of antennas with each antennaresponsible for communication with mobile devices in a portion of thecell.

In general, a base station (BS) serves each cell. Broadly, a basestation is a network element in a radio access network responsible forradio transmission and reception in one or more cells to or from a UE. Abase station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as abase transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radiotransceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), anextended service set (ESS), an access point (AP), a Node B (NB), aneNode B (eNB), gNB, or some other suitable terminology.

In FIG. 1, two high-power base stations 110 and 112 are shown in cells102 and 104, and a third high-power base station 114 is showncontrolling a remote radio head (RRH) 116 in cell 106. That is, a basestation can have an integrated antenna or can be connected to an antennaor RRH by feeder cables. In the illustrated example, the cells 102, 104,and 106 may be referred to as macrocells, as the high-power basestations 110, 112, and 114 support cells having a large size. Further, alow-power base station 118 is shown in the small cell 108 (e.g., amicrocell, picocell, femtocell, home base station, home Node B, homeeNode B, etc.) which may overlap with one or more macrocells. In thisexample, the cell 108 may be referred to as a small cell, as thelow-power base station 118 supports a cell having a relatively smallsize. Cell sizing can be done according to system design as well ascomponent constraints. It is to be understood that the access network100 may include any number of wireless base stations and cells. Further,a relay node may be deployed to extend the size or coverage area of agiven cell. The base stations 110, 112, 114, 118 provide wireless accesspoints to a core network for any number of mobile apparatuses.

FIG. 1 further includes a quadcopter or drone 120, which may beconfigured to function as a base station. That is, in some examples, acell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of thecell may move according to the location of a mobile base station such asthe quadcopter 120 or other suitably mobile device.

In general, base stations may include a backhaul interface forcommunication with a backhaul portion of the network. The backhaul mayprovide a link between a base station and a core network, and in someexamples, the backhaul may provide interconnection between therespective base stations. The core network is a part of a wirelesscommunication system that is generally independent of the radio accesstechnology used in the radio access network. Various types of backhaulinterfaces may be employed, such as a direct physical connection, avirtual network, or the like using any suitable transport network. Somebase stations may be configured as integrated access and backhaul (IAB)nodes, where the wireless spectrum may be used both for access links(i.e., wireless links with UEs), and for backhaul links. This scheme issometimes referred to as wireless self-backhauling. By using wirelessself-backhauling, rather than requiring each new base station deploymentto be outfitted with its own hard-wired backhaul connection, thewireless spectrum utilized for communication between the base stationand UE may be leveraged for backhaul communication, enabling fast andeasy deployment of highly dense small cell networks.

The access network 100 is illustrated supporting wireless communicationfor multiple mobile apparatuses. A mobile apparatus is commonly referredto as user equipment (UE) in standards and specifications promulgated bythe 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), but may also be referredto by those skilled in the art as a mobile station (MS), a subscriberstation, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remoteunit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communicationsdevice, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal(AT), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, ahandset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or someother suitable terminology. A UE may be an apparatus that provides auser with access to network services.

Within the present document, a “mobile” apparatus need not necessarilyhave a capability to move, and may be stationary. The term mobileapparatus or mobile device broadly refers to a diverse array of devicesand technologies. For example, some non-limiting examples of a mobileapparatus include a mobile, a cellular (cell) phone, a smart phone, asession initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal computer(PC), a notebook, a netbook, a smartbook, a tablet, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), and a broad array of embedded systems, e.g.,corresponding to an “Internet of things” (IoT). A mobile apparatus mayadditionally be an automotive or other transportation vehicle, a remotesensor or actuator, a robot or robotics device, a satellite radio, aglobal positioning system (GPS) device, an object tracking device, adrone, a multi-copter, a quad-copter, a remote control device, aconsumer and/or wearable device, such as eyewear, a wearable camera, avirtual reality device, a smart watch, a health or fitness tracker, adigital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, etc.A mobile apparatus may additionally be a digital home or smart homedevice such as a home audio, video, and/or multimedia device, anappliance, a vending machine, intelligent lighting, a home securitysystem, a smart meter, etc. A mobile apparatus may additionally be asmart energy device, a security device, a solar panel or solar array, amunicipal infrastructure device controlling electric power (e.g., asmart grid), lighting, water, etc.; an industrial automation andenterprise device; a logistics controller; agricultural equipment;military defense equipment, vehicles, aircraft, ships, and weaponry,etc. Still further, a mobile apparatus may provide for connectedmedicine or telemedicine support, i.e., health care at a distance.Telehealth devices may include telehealth monitoring devices andtelehealth administration devices, whose communication may be givenpreferential treatment or prioritized access over other types ofinformation, e.g., in terms of prioritized access for transport ofcritical service data, and/or relevant QoS for transport of criticalservice data.

Within the access network 100, the cells may include UEs that may be incommunication with one or more sectors of each cell. For example, UEs122 and 124 may be in communication with base station 110, UEs 126 and128 may be in communication with base station 112, UEs 130 and 132 maybe in communication with base station 114 by way of RRH 116, UE 134 maybe in communication with low-power base station 118, and UE 136 may bein communication with mobile base station 120. Here, each base station110, 112, 114, 118, and 120 may be configured to provide an access pointto a core network (not shown) for all the UEs in the respective cells.

In another example, a mobile network node (e.g., quadcopter 120) may beconfigured to function as a UE. For example, the quadcopter 120 mayoperate within cell 102 by communicating with base station 110. In someaspects of the disclosure, two or more UE (e.g., UEs 126 and 128) maycommunicate with each other using peer to peer (P2P) or sidelink signals127 without relaying that communication through a base station (e.g.,base station 112).

Unicast or broadcast transmissions of control information and/or trafficinformation from a base station (e.g., base station 110) to one or moreUEs (e.g., UEs 122 and 124) may be referred to as downlink (DL)transmission, while transmissions of control information and/or trafficinformation originating at a UE (e.g., UE 122) may be referred to asuplink (UL) transmissions. In addition, the uplink and/or downlinkcontrol information and/or traffic information may be time-divided intoframes, subframes, slots, and/or symbols. As used herein, a symbol mayrefer to a unit of time that, in an OFDM waveform, carries one resourceelement (RE) per subcarrier. A slot may carry 7 or 14 OFDM symbols. Asubframe may refer to a duration of 1 ms. Multiple subframes may begrouped together to form a single frame or radio frame. Of course, thesedefinitions are not required, and any suitable scheme for organizingwaveforms may be utilized, and various time divisions of the waveformmay have any suitable duration.

In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled, whereina scheduling entity (e.g., a base station) allocates resources forcommunication among some or all devices and equipment within its servicearea or cell. Within the present disclosure, as discussed further below,the scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, assigning,reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more scheduledentities. That is, for scheduled communication, UEs or scheduledentities utilize resources allocated by the scheduling entity.

Base stations are not the only entities that may function as ascheduling entity. That is, in some examples, a UE may function as ascheduling entity, scheduling resources for one or more scheduledentities (e.g., one or more other UEs). In other examples, sidelinksignals may be used between UEs without necessarily relying onscheduling or control information from a base station. For example, UE138 is illustrated communicating with UEs 140 and 142. In some examples,the UE 138 may be functioning as either a scheduling entity or a primarysidelink device, and UEs 140 and 142 may be respectively functioning aseither a scheduled entity or a non-primary (e.g., secondary) sidelinkdevice. In still another example, a UE may function as a schedulingentity in a device-to-device (D2D), peer-to-peer (P2P), orvehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network, and/or in a mesh network. In a meshnetwork example, UEs 140 and 142 may optionally communicate directlywith one another in addition to communicating with the scheduling entity138.

Thus, in a wireless communication network with a scheduled access totime-frequency resources and having a cellular configuration, a P2Pconfiguration, and a mesh configuration, a scheduling entity and one ormore scheduled entities may communicate utilizing the scheduledresources. Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram illustrates ascheduling entity 202 and a plurality of scheduled entities 204. Here,the scheduling entity 202 may correspond to the base stations 110, 112,114, and 118. In additional examples, the scheduling entity 202 maycorrespond to the UE 138, the quadcopter 120, or any other suitable nodein the access network 100. Similarly, in various examples, the scheduledentity 204 may correspond to the UE 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, 132, 134,136, 138, 140, and 142, or any other suitable node in the access network100.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the scheduling entity 202 may broadcast data206 to one or more scheduled entities 204 (the data may be referred toas downlink data). In accordance with certain aspects of the presentdisclosure, the term downlink may refer to a point-to-multipointtransmission originating at the scheduling entity 202. Broadly, thescheduling entity 202 is a node or device responsible for schedulingtraffic in a wireless communication network, including the downlinktransmissions and, in some examples, uplink data 210 from one or morescheduled entities to the scheduling entity 202. Another way to describethe system may be to use the term broadcast channel multiplexing. Inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the term uplink mayrefer to a point-to-point transmission originating at a scheduled entity204. Broadly, the scheduled entity 204 is a node or device that receivesscheduling control information, including but not limited to schedulinggrants, synchronization or timing information, or other controlinformation from another entity in the wireless communication networksuch as the scheduling entity 202.

The scheduling entity 202 may broadcast to one or more scheduledentities 204 control information 208. Uplink data 210 and/or downlinkdata 206 including one or more data channels, may be additionallytransmitted between the scheduling entity 202 and the scheduled entity204. Transmissions of the control and data information may be organizedby subdividing a carrier, in time, into suitable transmission timeintervals (TTIs). Furthermore, the scheduled entities 204 may transmituplink control information 212 including one or more uplink controlchannels to the scheduling entity 202.

The channels or carriers illustrated in FIG. 2 are not necessarily allof the channels or carriers that may be utilized between a schedulingentity 202 and scheduled entities 204, and those of ordinary skill inthe art will recognize that other channels or carriers may be utilizedin addition to those illustrated, such as other data, control, andfeedback channels.

A scheduled entity 204 can send uplink control information 212 on aphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH), which is received by thescheduling entity 202. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating oneexample of a frame structure for an uplink transmission on the PUCCH. Asshown, the frame includes a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)302, followed by a guard period 304. Following the guard period 304 is aperiod of a regular burst 306, which is followed by a common uplinkburst 308. The PDCCH 302 can be one symbol, the guard period 304 can beone symbol, and the common uplink burst 308 can be one symbol. Theregular burst 306 can include eleven symbols. The regular burst 306includes the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and/or a physicaluplink shared channel (PUSCH). As a scheduled entity 204 sends uplinktransmissions, the payload may vary. For example, the payload may be anysize from one symbol to multiple symbols, including up to severalhundred symbols. In some examples, the common uplink burst 308 may carryuplink control information, including but not limited to dataacknowledgments of downlink data, scheduling requests, channel qualityinformation, pilot signals, etc. Although specific numbers of symbolsfor each portion of the subframe are provided by way of an example, thenumbers of symbols for each portion can vary as desired to achievedifferent goals.

In some uplink transmissions, a scheduled entity 204 may employ alleleven symbols of the regular burst 306. In some instances, a scheduledentity 204 that is configured to send mission critical or ultra-reliablelow-latency communications (URLLC) may desire to have a short delaybefore sending and the communication may desire to have a relativelyshort duration. Similarly, it may be desirable for a normal scheduledentity 204 to also have a relatively short transmission duration toreduce delay or increase turnaround times.

Aspects of the present disclosure include employing frequency divisionmultiplexing to divide the entire bandwidth of the regular burst period306 to support multi-channel transmissions, as will be discussed infurther detail hereafter.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating select components of a scheduledentity 400 employing a processing system 402 according to at least oneexample of the present disclosure. In this example, the processingsystem 402 is implemented with a bus architecture, represented generallyby the bus 404. The bus 404 may include any number of interconnectingbuses and bridges depending on the specific application of theprocessing system 402 and the overall design constraints. The bus 404communicatively couples together various circuits including one or moreprocessors (represented generally by the processing circuit 406), amemory 408, and computer-readable media (represented generally by thestorage medium 410). The bus 404 may also link various other circuitssuch as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and powermanagement circuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore,will not be described any further. A bus interface 412 provides aninterface between the bus 404 and a transceiver 414. The transceiver 414provides a means for communicating with various other apparatus over atransmission medium. Depending upon the nature of the apparatus, a userinterface 416 (e.g., keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick) mayalso be provided.

The processing circuit 406 is responsible for managing the bus 404 andgeneral processing, including the execution of programming stored on thecomputer-readable storage medium 410. The programming, when executed bythe processing circuit 406, causes the processing system 402 to performthe various functions described below for any particular apparatus. Thecomputer-readable storage medium 410 and the memory 408 may also be usedfor storing data that is manipulated by the processing circuit 406 whenexecuting programming. As used herein, the term “programming” shall beconstrued broadly to include without limitation instructions,instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs,subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications,software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threadsof execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to assoftware, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware descriptionlanguage, or otherwise.

The processing circuit 406 is arranged to obtain, process and/or senddata, control data access and storage, issue commands, and control otherdesired operations. The processing circuit 406 may include circuitryadapted to implement desired programming provided by appropriate media,and/or circuitry adapted to perform one or more functions described inthis disclosure. For example, the processing circuit 406 may beimplemented as one or more processors, one or more controllers, and/orother structure configured to execute executable programming and/orexecute specific functions. Examples of the processing circuit 406 mayinclude a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP),an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA) and/or other programmable logic component, discretegate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general purpose processor may include a microprocessor, as well as anyconventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine.The processing circuit 406 may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing components, such as a combination of a DSP and amicroprocessor, a number of microprocessors, one or more microprocessorsin conjunction with a DSP core, an ASIC and a microprocessor, or anyother number of varying configurations. These examples of the processingcircuit 406 are for illustration and other suitable configurationswithin the scope of the present disclosure are also contemplated.

In some instances, the processing circuit 406 may include an uplinktransmission circuit and/or module 418. The uplink transmissioncircuit/module 418 may generally include circuitry and/or programming(e.g., programming stored on the storage medium 410) adapted to send anuplink transmission utilizing two or more physical uplink controlchannels (PUCCH), where each PUCCH is associated with a differentfrequency band, as described in the present disclosure. As used herein,reference to circuitry and/or programming may be generally referred toas logic (e.g., logic gates and/or data structure logic).

The storage medium 410 may represent one or more computer-readabledevices for storing programming, such as processor executable code orinstructions (e.g., software, firmware), electronic data, databases, orother digital information. The storage medium 410 may also be used forstoring data that is manipulated by the processing circuit 406 whenexecuting programming. The storage medium 410 may be any availablenon-transitory media that can be accessed by a general purpose orspecial purpose processor, including portable or fixed storage devices,optical storage devices, and various other mediums capable of storing,containing and/or carrying programming By way of example and notlimitation, the storage medium 410 may include a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium such as a magnetic storage device(e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical storagemedium (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD)), a smartcard, a flash memory device (e.g., card, stick, key drive), randomaccess memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM),erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register,a removable disk, and/or other mediums for storing programming, as wellas any combination thereof.

The storage medium 410 may be coupled to the processing circuit 406 suchthat the processing circuit 406 can read information from, and writeinformation to, the storage medium 410. That is, the storage medium 410can be coupled to the processing circuit 406 so that the storage medium410 is at least accessible by the processing circuit 406, includingexamples where the storage medium 410 is integral to the processingcircuit 406 and/or examples where the storage medium 410 is separatefrom the processing circuit 406 (e.g., resident in the processing system402, external to the processing system 402, distributed across multipleentities).

Programming stored by the storage medium 410, when executed by theprocessing circuit 406, can cause the processing circuit 406 to performone or more of the various functions and/or process steps describedherein. In at least some examples, the storage medium 410 may includeuplink transmission operations 420. The uplink transmission operations420 are generally adapted to cause the processing circuit 406 to send anuplink transmission utilizing two or more PUCCHs, where each PUCCH isassociated with a different frequency band, as described herein.

Thus, according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, theprocessing circuit 406 is adapted to perform (independently or inconjunction with the storage medium 410) any or all of the processes,functions, steps and/or routines for any or all of the scheduledentities described herein (e.g., UE 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, 132, 134,136, 138, 140, and 142, scheduled entity 204, scheduled entity 400). Asused herein, the term “adapted” in relation to the processing circuit406 may refer to the processing circuit 406 being one or more ofconfigured, employed, implemented, and/or programmed (in conjunctionwith the storage medium 410) to perform a particular process, function,step and/or routine according to various features described herein.

As noted previously, the scheduled entity 400 may be configured toemploy frequency division multiplexing to send uplink transmissionsutilizing two or more PUCCHs, where each PUCCH is associated with adifferent frequency band. For example, FIG. 5 is a block diagramillustrating one example of a configuration for the regular burst 306.As shown, the regular burst period 306 is divided to include more thanone physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) bands, more than one soundingreference signal (SRS) bands, and a PUCCH region (or band) 502. In someimplementations, the PUCCH region 502 may be located relatively centralon the frequency band. The relatively central location of the PUCCHregion 502 can facilitate a reduced peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR)and/or reduced leakage impact when multiplexed with the other channels.In some implementations, the PUCCH region 502 may be located relativelyat the edge on the frequency band.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram showing another configuration for theregular burst 306, including a plurality of PUCCH regions (or bands)602. In the example depicted in FIG. 6, the PUCCH regions 602 include arelatively narrower bandwidth than the bandwidth associated with thesingle PUCCH region 502 depicted in FIG. 5. In some implementations, thePUCCH regions 602 may be configured with 5 MHz bandwidth locatedrelatively central on the frequency band. Again, the relatively centrallocation of the PUCCH regions 602 can facilitate a reducedpeak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) and/or reduced leakage impact whenmultiplexed with the other channels.

In some implementations, the multiple PUCCH regions 602 depicted in FIG.6 may be used for frequency hopping and/or multi-cluster uplinktransmissions. For instance, FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating anexample of a frequency hopping transmission according to at least oneimplementation. As shown, the scheduled entity 400 can send an uplinktransmission including several symbols transmitted on the first PUCCHband 702 and several symbols transmitted on the second PUCCH band 704.For example, the scheduled entity 400 can transmit a first number ofsymbols using a first resource block (RB) on the first PUCCH band 702.The scheduled entity 400 can then switch (or hop) to the second PUCCHband 704 for transmitting a second number of symbols on a secondresource block on the second PUCCH band 704. In one implementation, thescheduled entity 400 may transmit an uneven number of symbols on the twobands, e.g., 5 symbols on the first PUCCH band 702 and 6 symbols on thesecond PUCCH band 704. The number of symbols on each band may depend onthe total number of symbols available for the PUCCH.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a multi-clustertransmission according to at least one implementation. As shown, thescheduled entity 400 can send uplink transmissions using a respectiveresource block on each of the first and second PUCCH bands 702, 704,where the transmissions on each of the PUCCH bands overlap at leastpartially in time.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a transmissionemploying aspects of both frequency hopping and multi-cluster describedabove. As shown, the scheduled entity 400 may send an uplinktransmission including several symbols transmitted on the first PUCCHband 702 and several symbols transmitted on the second PUCCH band 704,where at least one symbol associated with each band overlap. Morespecifically, the scheduled entity 400 can send an uplink transmissionon the first PUCCH band 702 utilizing the first six symbols of theeleven-symbol burst, and an uplink transmission on the second PUCCH band704 utilizing the last six symbols of the eleven-symbol burst. In thedepicted example, the data symbols and the reference signal (RS) symbolsare shown as alternating with the data symbols. Specifically, the first,third, and fifth symbols on the first PUCCH band 702 are transmitted asdata symbols, and the second, fourth, and sixth symbols are transmittedas reference signal (RS) symbols. Further, the sixth, eighth, and tenthsymbols transmitted on the second PUCCH band 704 are transmitted asreference signal (RS) symbols, and the seventh, ninth, and eleventhsymbols are transmitted as data symbols. As depicted, the sixth symbolon the first PUCCH band 702 and on the second PUCCH band 704 are bothutilized by the scheduled entity 400 to send an uplink transmission. Inthis example, the sixth symbol on each band is transmitted as a RSsymbol. In some examples, the sixth symbol may be present on the firstband and not on the second band. In various examples, the RS symbols andthe data symbols may be interchangeable. For example, the first, third,and fifth symbols on the first PUCCH band 702 may be transmitted as RSsymbols, and the second fourth, and sixth symbols may be transmitted asdata symbols in the depicted embodiment. In still other examples, the RSsymbols and the data symbols may be grouped together, such as in theexample shown in FIG. 10 described below.

According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, thescheduled entity 400 can be configured to select a PUCCH frame structureand/or error coding scheme according to a size of the payload to betransmitted. For example, the scheduled entity 400 may determine whetherthe size of the payload is below a first threshold, above the firstthreshold and below a second threshold, or above the second threshold.If the payload is determined to be below the first threshold, thepayload size can be determined to be relatively small. FIGS. 10-12illustrate examples of employing different frame structures based on thedetermined size of the payload. For instance, FIG. 10 shows an exampleof a frame structure for transmitting a relatively small payload (e.g.,below the first threshold) on two PUCCH bands using frequency hopping asdescribed above. As shown, the small payload can employ a framestructure utilizing a number of RS symbols that is approximately thesame number of data symbols. The data symbols and RS symbols may beplaced in alternating orders in time domain as depicted in FIG. 9. Thedata symbols and RS symbols may also be placed together in groups intime domain as depicted in FIG. 10. In this example, the frame structureutilizes five RS symbols and six data symbols. A repetition code may beused for this payload range.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a frame structure for transmitting arelatively medium sized payload (e.g., above the first threshold andbelow the second threshold) on two PUCCH bands using frequency hoppingas described above. As shown, the medium payload can employ theexemplary frame structure utilizing fewer RS symbols compared to thesmall payload frame structure. In this example, the medium payload framestructure utilizes four RS symbols and seven data symbols. A Reed-Mullercode may be used for this payload range.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a frame structure for transmitting arelatively large payload (e.g., above the second threshold) on two PUCCHbands using frequency hopping as described above. As shown, the largepayload can employ the exemplary frame structure utilizing fewer RSsymbols compared to the small and medium payload frame structures. Inthis example, the large payload frame structure utilizes two RS symbolsand nine data symbols. A tail biting convolutional code (TBCC) or turbocode or LDPC code may be used in this payload range.

Although the examples shown in FIGS. 10-12 are all frequency hoppingexamples, it should be apparent that similar aspects of utilizingdifferent frame structures and/or error code based on payload size canalso be implemented with the multi-cluster examples described above, aswell as the combination of multi-cluster and frequency hopping asdescribed above. Further, although only three payload ranges aredescribed, the actual number of payload ranges may vary anywhere fromtwo or more ranges.

In all of the above examples, the scheduled entity 400 is utilizing alleleven symbols of an uplink regular burst with a combination of RSsymbols and data symbols. Such transmissions can be considered coherenttransmissions, where a receiving device (e.g., scheduling entity 1500)is aware of which symbols are RS symbols and which symbols are datasymbols.

In one or more other implementations, the scheduled entity 400 may sendan uplink transmission on the PUCCH as a non-coherent transmission,where the receiving device (e.g., scheduling entity 1500) is not awareof whether each symbol is a RS symbol or a data symbol. For example, thescheduled entity 400 may have relatively few symbols to send (e.g., lessthan all eleven symbols). The scheduled entity 400 may send the fewsymbols on the PUCCH without following a predetermined sequence of RSsymbols. In such instances, the scheduled entity 400 can utilize fewerthan all eleven symbols, and another user device can send an uplinktransmission on the same PUCCH using those symbols that were not used bythe scheduled entity 400.

According to one example, when the scheduled entity 400 has just onesymbol to transmit, the scheduled entity 400 can send the single symbolwithout any RS symbols, and the remaining ten symbols are opened foranother user to utilize. If the scheduled entity 400 has more than onesymbol for transmission, the scheduled entity 400 may use anycombination of RS and data symbols in a non-coherent transmission,without using all eleven symbols.

In some implementations, RS (e.g., pilot) tones and data tones can becreated in the frequency domain utilizing particularly designedsequences. That is, known RS tones for channel estimation can be createdutilizing a base sequence multiplied with different orthogonal covers orwith phase ramping. For example, a base sequence may be multiplied witha different orthogonal cover (e.g., walsh cover, discrete fouriertransform (DFT) matrix), or carefully designed phase ramping. FIG. 13 isa diagram illustrating two sequences. Sequence 1, on the left of FIG.13, is all a +1 cover. Sequence 2, on the right of FIG. 13, is a +1 and−1 cover. In such a scenario, every other tone will be RS tones,independent of which sequence is transmitted. In such examples, thescheduling entity may specify a particular base sequence multiplied withdifferent orthogonal covers or with phase ramping to be utilized by thescheduled entity so that known RS tones can be generated by thescheduled entity.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating at least one example of a methodoperational on a scheduled entity, such as the scheduled entity 400.Referring to FIGS. 4 and 14, a scheduled entity 400 can obtain a payloadfor an uplink transmission on a PUCCH at 1402. For example, theprocessing circuit 406 may include logic (e.g., uplink transmissioncircuit/module 418, uplink transmission operations 420) adapted toobtain information to be transmitted on a PUCCH.

At 1404, the scheduled entity 400 can send an uplink transmissionutilizing two or more PUCCHs of a regular burst period, where each ofthe respective PUCCHs is associated with a different frequency band ofthe regular burst period. For example, the processing circuit 406 mayinclude logic (e.g., uplink transmission circuit/module 418, uplinktransmission operations 420) adapted to transmit the obtained payloadvia the transceiver 414 on two or more PUCCHs of a regular burst period,where each respective PUCCH of the plurality of PUCCHs are transmittedon different respective frequency bands of the regular burst period.

As previously discussed herein (e.g., with reference to FIGS. 7 and 9),some implementations of sending the uplink transmission utilizing thetwo or more PUCCHs may include sending a first portion of the uplinktransmission on a first PUCCH associated with a first frequency band ofthe regular burst period, switching to a second PUCCH associated with asecond frequency band of the regular burst period, and then sending asecond portion of the uplink transmission on the second PUCCH. In someexamples, at least a portion of the second portion of the uplinktransmission on the second PUCCH may be sent simultaneous to sending atleast a portion of the first portion of the uplink transmission on thefirst PUCCH, such as in the example depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9.

In some implementations, sending the uplink transmission utilizing thetwo or more PUCCHs may include simultaneously sending an uplinktransmission on a first PUCCH associated with a first frequency band andan uplink transmission on a second PUCCH associated with a secondfrequency band, such as in the example depicted in FIG. 8.

In some implementations, prior to sending the uplink transmission, thescheduled entity 400 may determine a size of the payload to determinewhether it falls within one or more predetermined ranges for payloadsizes. For example, the processing circuit 406 may include logic (e.g.,uplink transmission circuit/module 418, uplink transmission operations420) adapted to determine whether a size of the payload is less than afirst threshold, greater than or equal to the first threshold and lessthan or equal to a second threshold, or greater than the secondthreshold.

In at least one example, a first frame structure and/or a first errorcode may be employed when the size of the payload is determined to beless than the first threshold. Further, a second frame structure and/ora second error code may be employed when the size of the payload isdetermined to be greater than or equal to the first threshold and lessthan or equal to the second threshold. Additionally, a third framestructure and/or a third error code may be employed when the size of thepayload is determined to be greater than the second threshold.

In at least one implementation, employing the first frame structureand/or the first error code may include utilizing a number of RS symbolsthat approximates the number of data symbols.

In one or more implementations, sending the uplink transmissionutilizing the two or more PUCCHs may include sending the uplinktransmission as a coherent transmission including a predeterminedsequence of reference signal (RS) symbols and data symbols. In otherimplementations, sending the uplink transmission utilizing the two ormore PUCCHs may include sending the uplink transmission as anon-coherent transmission.

In some implementations, the scheduled entity 400 may create known RStones for channel estimates utilizing a base sequence multiplied withdifferent orthogonal covers or with phase ramping, as noted previouslyherein. For example, the processing circuit 406 may include logic (e.g.,uplink transmission circuit/module 418, uplink transmission operations420) adapted to generate known RS tones for channel estimates utilizinga base sequence multiplied with different orthogonal covers or withphase ramping.

Turning now to FIG. 15, a block diagram is shown illustrating selectcomponents of a scheduling entity 1500 employing a processing system1502 according to at least one example of the present disclosure.Similar to the processing system 402 in FIG. 4, the processing system1502 may be implemented with a bus architecture, represented generallyby the bus 1504. The bus 1504 may include any number of interconnectingbuses and bridges depending on the specific application of theprocessing system 1502 and the overall design constraints. The bus 1504communicatively couples together various circuits including one or moreprocessors (represented generally by the processing circuit 1506), amemory 1508, and computer-readable media (represented generally by thestorage medium 1510). The bus 1504 may also link various other circuitssuch as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and powermanagement circuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore,will not be described any further. A bus interface 1512 provides aninterface between the bus 1504 and a transceiver 1514. The transceiver1514 provides a means for communicating with various other apparatusover a transmission medium. Depending upon the nature of the apparatus,a user interface 1516 (e.g., keypad, display, speaker, microphone,joystick) may also be provided.

The processing circuit 1506 is responsible for managing the bus 1504 andgeneral processing, including the execution of programming stored on thecomputer-readable storage medium 1510. The programming, when executed bythe processing circuit 1506, causes the processing system 1502 toperform the various functions described below for any particularapparatus. The computer-readable storage medium 1510 and the memory 1508may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processingcircuit 1506 when executing programming.

The processing circuit 1506 is arranged to obtain, process and/or senddata, control data access and storage, issue commands, and control otherdesired operations. The processing circuit 1506 may include circuitryadapted to implement desired programming provided by appropriate mediain at least one example, and/or circuitry adapted to perform one or morefunctions described in this disclosure. The processing circuit 1506 maybe implemented and/or configured according to any of the examples of theprocessing circuit 406 described above.

In some instances, the processing circuit 1506 may include an uplinkreception (Rx) circuit and/or module 1518. The uplink receptioncircuit/module 1518 may generally include circuitry and/or programming(e.g., programming stored on the storage medium 1510) adapted to receiveuplink transmissions on two or more physical uplink control channels(PUCCH) associated with different frequency bands of a regular burstperiod, and to communicate with a scheduled entity to facilitate suchuplink transmissions, as described herein. As noted previously,reference to circuitry and/or programming may be generally referred toas logic (e.g., logic gates and/or data structure logic).

The storage medium 1510 may represent one or more computer-readabledevices for storing programming, such as processor executable code orinstructions (e.g., software, firmware), electronic data, databases, orother digital information. The storage medium 1510 may be configuredand/or implemented in a manner similar to the storage medium 410described above.

Programming stored by the storage medium 1510, when executed by theprocessing circuit 1506, can cause the processing circuit 1506 toperform one or more of the various functions and/or process stepsdescribed herein. In at least some examples, the storage medium 1510 mayinclude uplink reception (Rx) operations 1520 adapted to cause theprocessing circuit 1506 to receive uplink transmissions on two or morephysical uplink control channels (PUCCH) associated with differentfrequency bands of a regular burst period, and to communicate with ascheduled entity to facilitate such uplink transmissions, as describedherein. Thus, according to one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure, the processing circuit 1506 is adapted to perform(independently or in conjunction with the storage medium 1510) any orall of the processes, functions, steps and/or routines for any or all ofthe scheduled entities described herein (e.g., base station 110, 112,114, 118, UE 138, quadcopter 120, scheduling entity 202). As usedherein, the term “adapted” in relation to the processing circuit 1506may refer to the processing circuit 1506 being one or more ofconfigured, employed, implemented, and/or programmed (in conjunctionwith the storage medium 1510) to perform a particular process, function,step and/or routine according to various features described herein.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating at least one example of a methodoperational on a scheduling entity, such as the scheduling entity 1500.Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, a scheduling entity 1500 can optionallysend a downlink transmission to a scheduled entity at 1602. The downlinktransmission may be adapted to specify a particular base sequencemultiplied with different orthogonal covers or with phase ramping to beutilized by the scheduled entity for the uplink transmission on thefirst PUCCH and on the second PUCCH for creating known reference signal(RS) tones for channel estimates, as described previously herein. Forexample, the processing circuit 1506 may include logic (e.g., uplinkreception circuit/module 1518, uplink reception operations 1520) adaptedto send a downlink transmission via the transceiver 1514 to a scheduledentity, where the downlink transmission is configured to specify aparticular base sequence multiplied with different orthogonal covers orwith phase ramping to be utilized for creating known reference signal(RS) tones for channel estimates.

At 1604, the scheduling entity 1500 may receive an uplink transmissionfrom the scheduled entity on a first PUCCH of a regular burst period.Further, at 1606, the scheduling entity 1500 may receive an uplinktransmission from the scheduled entity on at least a second PUCCH of thesame regular burst period. According to an aspect of the disclosure, thefirst PUCCH and the second PUCCH are associated with respectivelydifferent frequency bands of the regular burst period. In at least oneimplementation, the processing circuit 1506 may include logic (e.g.,uplink reception circuit/module 1518, uplink reception operations 1520)adapted to receive the uplink transmission on the first PUCCH and theuplink transmission on the at least a second PUCCH via the transceiver1514.

In some implementations, at least a portion of the uplink transmissionon the first PUCCH may be received simultaneous to receiving at least aportion of the uplink transmission on the second PUCCH, as notedpreviously herein.

In one or more implementations, the received uplink transmission on thefirst and second PUCCHs may include a number of RS symbols approximatinga number of data symbols.

In some examples, the received uplink transmissions on the first PUCCHand the second PUCCH may be coherent transmissions including apredetermined sequence of reference signal (RS) symbols and datasymbols. In other examples, the received uplink transmissions on thefirst PUCCH and the second PUCCH may be non-coherent transmissions.

As noted previously herein, the received uplink transmissions on thefirst PUCCH and the second PUCCH may be formatted with a plurality of RSsymbols in alternating format with a plurality of data symbols. In otherexamples, the plurality of RS symbols may be grouped together and theplurality of data symbols may be grouped together.

Several aspects of a wireless communication network have been presentedwith reference to an exemplary implementation. As those skilled in theart will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout thisdisclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, networkarchitectures and communication standards.

By way of example, various aspects may be implemented within varioussystems defined by 3GPP, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), the EvolvedPacket System (EPS), the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System(UMTS), and/or the Global System for Mobile (GSM). Various aspects mayalso be extended to systems defined by the 3rd Generation PartnershipProject 2 (3GPP2), such as CDMA2000 and/or Evolution-Data Optimized(EV-DO). Other examples may be implemented within systems employing IEEE802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB),Bluetooth, and/or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunicationstandard, network architecture, and/or communication standard employedwill depend on the specific application and the overall designconstraints imposed on the system.

Within the present disclosure, the word “exemplary” is used to mean“serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementationor aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other aspects of thedisclosure. Likewise, the term “aspects” does not require that allaspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage ormode of operation. The term “coupled” is used herein to refer to thedirect or indirect coupling between two objects. For example, if objectA physically touches object B, and object B touches object C, thenobjects A and C may still be considered coupled to one another-even ifthey do not directly physically touch each other. For instance, a firstobject may be coupled to a second object even though the first object isnever directly physically in contact with the second object. The terms“circuit” and “circuitry” are used broadly, and intended to include bothhardware implementations of electrical devices and conductors that, whenconnected and configured, enable the performance of the functionsdescribed in the present disclosure, without limitation as to the typeof electronic circuits, as well as software implementations ofinformation and instructions that, when executed by a processor, enablethe performance of the functions described in the present disclosure.

One or more of the components, steps, features and/or functionsillustrated in FIGS. 1-14 may be rearranged and/or combined into asingle component, step, feature or function or embodied in severalcomponents, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps,and/or functions may also be added without departing from novel featuresdisclosed herein. The apparatus, devices, and/or components illustratedin FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 may be configured to perform one or more of themethods, features, or steps described herein. The novel algorithmsdescribed herein may also be efficiently implemented in software and/orembedded in hardware.

It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps inthe methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplary processes. Basedupon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanyingmethod claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order,and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchypresented unless specifically recited therein.

The various features associate with the examples described herein andshown in the accompanying drawings can be implemented in differentexamples and implementations without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. Therefore, although certain specific constructionsand arrangements have been described and shown in the accompanyingdrawings, such embodiments are merely illustrative and not restrictiveof the scope of the disclosure, since various other additions andmodifications to, and deletions from, the described embodiments will beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the scope of thedisclosure is only determined by the literal language, and legalequivalents, of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A scheduled entity, comprising: a transceiver; amemory; and a processing circuit coupled to the transceiver and thememory, wherein the processing circuit adapted to: obtain a payload foran uplink transmission on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); andsend the uplink transmission via the transceiver utilizing two or morePUCCHs of a regular burst period of a frame including a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) preceding the regular burst period anda common burst following the regular burst period, wherein each PUCCH isassociated with a respective frequency band of the regular burst periodthat does not overlap a frequency band associated with another PUCCH,wherein one or both of a frame structure or an error code used in theuplink transmission is selected based, at least in part, on a size ofthe payload.
 2. The scheduled entity of claim 1, wherein the processingcircuit adapted to send the uplink transmission utilizing two or morephysical uplink control channels (PUCCH) of the regular burst periodcomprises the processing circuit adapted to: send a first portion of theuplink transmission on a first PUCCH associated with a first frequencyband of the regular burst period; switch to a second PUCCH associatedwith a second frequency band of the regular burst period; and send asecond portion of the uplink transmission on the second PUCCH of theregular burst period.
 3. The scheduled entity of claim 2, wherein theprocessing circuit is further adapted to: send at least a part of thesecond portion of the uplink transmission on the second PUCCHsimultaneous to sending at least a part of the first portion of theuplink transmission on the first PUCCH.
 4. The scheduled entity of claim1, wherein the processing circuit adapted to send the uplinktransmission utilizing two or more physical uplink control channels(PUCCH) of the regular burst period comprises the processing circuitadapted to: send an uplink transmission on a first PUCCH associated witha first frequency band; and simultaneously send an uplink transmissionon a second PUCCH associated with a second frequency band.
 5. Thescheduled entity of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is furtheradapted to: determine whether the size of the payload is less than afirst threshold, greater than or equal to the first threshold and lessthan or equal to a second threshold, or greater than the secondthreshold; employ a first frame structure, a first error code, or boththe first frame structure and the first error code in response todetermining the size of the payload is less than the first threshold;employ a second frame structure, a second error code, or both the secondframe structure and the second error code in response to determining thesize of the payload is greater than or equal to the first threshold andless than or equal to the second threshold; and employ a third framestructure, a third error code, or both the third frame structure and thethird error code in response to determining the size of the payload isgreater than the second threshold.
 6. The scheduled entity of claim 5,wherein the processing circuit adapted to employ the first framestructure in response to determining the size of the payload is lessthan the first threshold comprises the processing circuit adapted to:employ the first frame structure with a number of reference signal (RS)symbols that approximates a number of data symbols.
 7. The scheduledentity of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit adapted to send theuplink transmission utilizing two or more physical uplink controlchannels (PUCCH) of the regular burst period comprises the processingcircuit adapted to: send the uplink transmission as a coherenttransmission including a predetermined sequence of reference signal (RS)symbols and data symbols.
 8. The scheduled entity of claim 1, whereinthe processing circuit adapted to send the uplink transmission utilizingtwo or more physical uplink control channels (PUCCH) of the regularburst period comprises the processing circuit adapted to: send theuplink transmission as a non-coherent transmission.
 9. The scheduledentity of claim 1, wherein the uplink transmission utilizing two or morephysical uplink control channels (PUCCH) of the regular burst periodcomprises: a plurality of reference signal (RS) symbols in alternatingformat with a plurality of data symbols.
 10. The scheduled entity ofclaim 1, wherein the uplink transmission utilizing two or more physicaluplink control channels (PUCCH) of the regular burst period comprises: aplurality of reference signal (RS) symbols grouped together and aplurality of data symbols grouped together.
 11. A method of wirelesscommunication, comprising: obtaining a payload for an uplinktransmission on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); and sendingthe uplink transmission utilizing two or more PUCCHs of a regular burstperiod of a frame including a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)preceding the regular burst period and a common burst following theregular burst period, wherein each PUCCH is associated with a differentfrequency band of the regular burst period that does not overlap afrequency band associated with another PUCCH, wherein one or both of aframe structure or an error code used in the uplink transmission isselected based, at least in part, on a size of the payload.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, wherein sending the uplink transmission utilizingtwo or more physical uplink control channels (PUCCH) of the regularburst period comprises: sending a first portion of the uplinktransmission on a first PUCCH associated with a first frequency band ofthe regular burst period; switching to a second PUCCH associated with asecond frequency band of the regular burst period; and sending a secondportion of the uplink transmission on the second PUCCH.
 13. The methodof claim 12, further comprising: sending at least a portion of thesecond portion of the uplink transmission on the second PUCCHsimultaneous to sending at least a portion of the first portion of theuplink transmission on the first PUCCH.
 14. The method of claim 11,wherein sending the uplink transmission utilizing two or more physicaluplink control channels (PUCCH) of the regular burst period comprises:sending an uplink transmission on a first PUCCH associated with a firstfrequency band; and simultaneously sending an uplink transmission on asecond PUCCH associated with a second frequency band.
 15. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising: determining whether the size of thepayload is less than a first threshold, greater than or equal to thefirst threshold and less than or equal to a second threshold, or greaterthan the second threshold; employing a first frame structure, a firsterror code, or both the first frame structure and the first error codein response to determining the size of the payload is less than thefirst threshold; employing a second frame structure, a second errorcode, or both the second frame structure and the second error code inresponse to determining the size of the payload is greater than or equalto the first threshold and less than or equal to the second threshold;and employing a third frame structure, a third error code, or both thethird frame structure and the third error code in response todetermining the size of the payload is greater than the secondthreshold.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein sending the uplinktransmission utilizing two or more physical uplink control channels(PUCCH) of the regular burst period comprises: sending the uplinktransmission as a coherent transmission including a predeterminedsequence of reference signal (RS) symbols and data symbols.
 17. Themethod of claim 11, wherein sending the uplink transmission utilizingtwo or more physical uplink control channels (PUCCH) of the regularburst period comprises: sending the uplink transmission as anon-coherent transmission.
 18. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: creating known reference signal (RS) tones for channelestimates utilizing a base sequence multiplied with different orthogonalcovers or with phase ramping.
 19. A scheduling entity, comprising: atransceiver; a memory; and a processing circuit coupled to thetransceiver and the memory, the processing circuit adapted to: receivevia the transceiver an uplink transmission comprising a payload from ascheduled entity on a first physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) of aregular burst period of a frame including a physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH) preceding the regular burst period and a common burstfollowing the regular burst period, wherein one or both of a framestructure or an error code used in the uplink transmission is based, atleast in part, on a size of the payload; and receive via the transceiveran uplink transmission from the scheduled entity on at least a secondPUCCH of the regular burst period; wherein the first PUCCH and thesecond PUCCH are associated with respectively different non-overlappingfrequency bands of the regular burst period.
 20. The scheduling entityof claim 19, wherein the processing circuit is further adapted to: senda downlink transmission to the scheduled entity, the downlinktransmission adapted to specify a particular base sequence multipliedwith different orthogonal covers or with phase ramping to be utilized bythe scheduled entity for creating known reference signal (RS) tones forchannel estimates.
 21. The scheduling entity of claim 19, wherein atleast a portion of the uplink transmission on the first PUCCH isreceived simultaneous to receiving at least a portion of the uplinktransmission on the second PUCCH.
 22. The scheduling entity of claim 19,wherein the received uplink transmissions on the first PUCCH and thesecond PUCCH comprises a number of reference signal (RS) symbolsapproximating a number of data symbols.
 23. The scheduling entity ofclaim 19, wherein the received uplink transmissions on the first PUCCHand the second PUCCH comprise coherent transmissions including apredetermined sequence of reference signal (RS) symbols and datasymbols.
 24. The scheduling entity of claim 19, wherein the receiveduplink transmissions on the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH comprisenon-coherent transmissions.
 25. The scheduling entity of claim 19,wherein the received uplink transmissions on the first PUCCH and thesecond PUCCH comprise a plurality of reference signal (RS) symbols inalternating format with a plurality of data symbols.
 26. The schedulingentity of claim 19, wherein the received uplink transmissions on thefirst PUCCH and the second PUCCH comprise a plurality of referencesignal (RS) symbols grouped together and a plurality of data symbolsgrouped together.
 27. A method of wireless communication, comprising:receiving an uplink transmission comprising a payload from a scheduledentity on a first physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) of a regularburst period of a frame including a physical downlink control channel(PDCCH) preceding the regular burst period and a common burst followingthe regular burst period, wherein one or both of a frame structure or anerror code used in the uplink transmission is based, at least in part,on a size of the payload; and receiving an uplink transmission from thescheduled entity on at least a second PUCCH of the regular burst period;wherein the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH are associated withrespectively different non-overlapping frequency bands of the regularburst period.
 28. The method of claim 27, further comprising: sending adownlink transmission to the scheduled entity, wherein the downlinktransmission is adapted to specify a particular base sequence multipliedwith different orthogonal covers or with phase ramping to be utilized bythe scheduled entity for the uplink transmission on the first PUCCH andon the second PUCCH for creating known reference signal (RS) tones forchannel estimates.
 29. The method of claim 27, wherein at least aportion of the uplink transmission on the first PUCCH is receivedsimultaneous to receiving at least a portion of the uplink transmissionon the second PUCCH.
 30. The method of claim 27, wherein the receiveduplink transmissions on the first PUCCH and the second PUCCH comprise anumber of reference signal (RS) symbols approximating a number of datasymbols.